CHAPTER XI
JOE'S RUN
"Water here! Bring some water!" yelled Smart, who was holding downsecond base for the Reds. "He's fainted I guess."
There was a rush of players toward Joe, and Darrell was the first toreach him.
"What's the matter, old man?" he asked sympathetically.
"I'm afraid I spiked him," answered Smart, ruefully. "I jumped for theball, and came down on his hand I guess."
"Too bad," murmured Darrell.
They turned Joe over, for he was lying on his face, and saw his lefthand covered with blood.
"Where's that first-aid kit?" called Tom Davis, who had rushed on thefield on seeing his friend hurt.
"Here it is," answered Rodney Burke, who acted as the amateur surgeon onthe few times his services had been required. "I'll bandage it up. Hadwe better get a doctor?"
Meanwhile some water had been sprinkled in Joe's face and some forcedbetween his lips. He opened his eyes as the others were washing theblood from his hand.
"I--I'm all right," he murmured, as he strove to rise.
"Now that's all right--you just lie still," commanded Darrell. "Look atit Rod, and see how bad it is."
Fortunately the wound was not as serious as had at first seemed and whencleansed of dirt and blood it was seen to be a long cut, lengthwise ofthe finger.
"I'll have that done up in a jiffy," remarked Rodney, who was not alittle proud of his skill. His father was a physician, and had shown theson how to make simple bandages. The wound was cleansed with anantiseptic solution and wrapped in the long narrow strips of bandagecloth. Joe got to his feet while this was being done, and, after alittle water containing aromatic spirits of ammonia had been given tohim, he declared that he was all right.
"Are you sure?" asked Darrell anxiously.
"Sure, I'll bring in a run yet if some one knocks the ball far enough,"said Joe with a smile, though it was rather a feeble one.
"Nonsense, you can't run after that," exclaimed Murphy, the Red captain."Give him a man," he added generously to his rival. "We don't care."
"I think I had better send Newton down to run for you," said CaptainRankin.
"But I'm going to play," insisted Joe.
"Yes, next inning," he was assured, and the game went on.
However, even the substitution of a runner in Joe's place availednothing, as the side was soon afterward retired with the men expiring onbases, and the one run was all the Silver Stars could gather in. Stillthat made the score two to one in their favor.
There was a big surprise in the next inning. The Reds came to bat fullof confidence, and the first man up rapped out as pretty a three baggeras had been pulled off that day. It went to deep right field, for whichJoe was thankful, as even with his finger protected by a bandage and aheavy glove on his hand, he felt that he would wince at catching a swiftball, and might possibly muff it. That was what the right fielder did,though he managed to pick it up quickly enough to prevent the playerfrom going on in to home.
Whether the fact of being hit for a long poke made Sam lose his temper,or the knowledge that part of his support consisted of a wounded playermade him nervous, was not manifest, but the fact remains that thepitcher "went up in the air" after that. He gave one man his base onballs, and when the next player came up, and rapped out a two bagger theman at third went on in, and there was a man holding down third whileone on second nearly made the bases full.
"Easy now," cautioned Darrell to Sam. "Hold 'em down."
"Um!" grunted Sam, and what he meant by it might be imagined, but he_did_ strike out the next two men. Then came a single which resulted ina tally being made, being the second run of the inning. Sam shut histeeth grimly. There were now two out and two men on bases and Sam felthis nerve leaving him. But by a strong effort he braced himself, and didthe trick to the next man, stopping the winning streak of the Reds justin time.
"Three to two against us," murmured Darrell as he looked at the scoreboard when he and his mates came in for their turn at the bat. "Thatisn't going as I'd like to see it. Say, fellows, we've got to knuckledown if we want to pull this game out of the fire."
"That's what," murmured George Rankin, and, perhaps involuntarily, heglanced at Sam.
"Oh, I know what you fellows mean without you saying so!" snapped thepitcher. "I wish you'd keep your remarks to yourselves. I can pitch allright."
"No one said you couldn't," declared Darrell gently.
But it was very little that the Silver Stars could accomplish. Two menwent down to inglorious defeat. The third knocked a nice single but diedon first when the Red pitcher with seeming ease struck out the fourthbatter. And it was not due so much that the visiting boxman had speed orcurves, as to the fact that he could fool the batters with easy balls.
"We seem to have struck a hoodoo," said Darrell in despairing tones asthey took the field again. "Sam, our only hope is in you. Not a run forus this inning and they got two."
"They won't get any more!" declared Sam savagely.
He made good his boast, for not a man got beyond second, and of thosewho performed this feat there was but one. A big circle went up in theRed's frame for the ending of the first half of the seventh inning.
But the Silver Stars fared no better, and for the next inning the resultwas the same, neither side being able to score. The tally was three runsto two in favor of the visitors when the ninth inning opened.
The Silver Stars didn't like to think of that inning afterward. Therewere numerous errors, wild throws and muffs. Joe let a ball slip throughhis fingers when by holding it he might have prevented a run, but ithappened to hit on the cut place, and the agony was such that he let outan exclamation of pain.
But he was not the only one who sinned. Sam was "rotten," to quote TomDavis, and "issued a number of passes." One man got to first by virtueof being hit and when the inning was over there were three runs in theRed's box.
"Six to two against us," murmured Darrell. "It looks bad, fellows--itlooks bad."
Joe was first up to the bat.
"Do you think you can hit?" asked the captain anxiously.
"Oh, yes. I can hold my little finger away from the bat and I'll be allright."
"Then hit for all you're worth," begged Darrell. "We need all we canget."
Joe clenched his teeth grimly and made up his mind he would not befooled as he had been several times before.
The Red pitcher was smiling in a tantalizing way and Joe felt himselfalmost hating him for it.
"I'm going to hit you! I'm going to hit you!" he found himself murmuringover and over again in his mind.
And hit Joe did. The first delivery was a ball, but the second Joe knewwas just where he wanted it. With all his force he swung at it and as hesped away toward first, with all the power of his legs he saw thehorsehide sailing on a clean hit in a long, low drive over the centrefielder's head.
Joe heard the ball strike the farther fence and a wild hope came intohis heart that he might make a home run.
"I'm going to do it! I'm going to do!" he whispered to himself as heturned first and sped like the wind for second base. Could he beat theball in? That was what he was asking himself. That was what hundreds offrantic fans were asking themselves.